The Krakatoa

About Krakatoa Volcano

Krakatoa, also known as Krakatau is a
small island volcano found in Indonesia, between Java and Sumatra, in the
Sunda Strait.

For more than 200 years Krakatoa was a quiet, little-noticed
island with no eruption occurring. That is until the year 1883.

It all started on 20th of May, with a series of not such
violent explosions in the vent of Perboewatan, first of the three volcanic
cones which erupted during the so named “The 1883 Catastrophe”.

The cone was entirely destroyed. So was Danan, another
volcanic vent on the island, which followed immediately the Perboewatan’s
eruptions in May 1883.

Bootsmansrots is the name of a small rocky islet which
remained after the explosions.

The biggest of the three vents, Rakata is standing about 2,700 ft. (820 m) above sea level and
it was the only one that wasn’t completely destroyed during the catastrophe. The remains, an exposed cliff with
an unusual lenticular shape is sometimes called the Eye of Krakatoa.

Eye of Krakatoa

The series of these eruptions were followed by one of the biggest and most disastrous
catastrophes in recorded history.

Krakatoa Eruption:
TheCatastrophe

On 27th of August, the largest sound ever heard on earth occurred. The biggest and most violent
volcanic eruption struck the island of Krakatoa, 8km off the western tip of Java.

So massive was the disturbance that the island was destroyed and around 40,000 people were
killed.

The impact of this mother of all bangs was not confined to the immediate area around Java.

The sound and fury of the series of explosions were felt and heard over 10 per cent of the
earth's surface.

Ships in the Red Sea were covered in ash, barometers were disturbed in Washington and there was
a noticeable change in the seas around Devon in England. There were unusually red sunsets over London and large
rafts of pumice floated to Africa.

Then there was the series of tsunamis of gigantic proportions. Over 200 Javanese villages were
destroyed.